Well! in my many walks I’ve rarely found

A place less likely for a bird to form

Its nest; close by the rut-gulled wagon-road,

And on the almost bare foot-trodden ground,

With scarce a clump of grass to keep it warm,

Where not a thistle spreads its spears abroad,

Or prickly bush to shield it from harm’s way;

And yet so snugly made, that none may spy

It out, save peradventure. You and I

Had surely passed it in our walk to-day,